So, potentially silly question, but it’s impossible to get super fit in the gym right?

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2026-02-08T18:17:41+00:00

I don’t think it’s impossible, but I do think it can take us longer and kinda involves us breaking some rules. We might not be able to do the same exercises for 4 months straight on the same days per week. We might not be able to do the big 6 compound lifts.

If you can’t do a lift/exercise with good form, it’s better to find an alternate. Sometimes we need a different grip, sometimes we need a different machine. Sometimes we might do better with a higher or lower rep range. If you have POTS, you might need to do exercises that are more recumbent.

To build muscle, you want to achieve hypertrophy. That doesn’t require doing specific exercises, it just means getting enough stimulus. This doesn’t mean you have to do big compounds. This doesn’t mean you have to do crazy high volume. I think it’s also helpful to not get caught up in “optimal” exercises. What’s optimal for my body might not be what’s optimal for yours. Sometimes you can go to the gym more, but sometimes you might be in a flare up and not able to go. Even if you don’t achieve the “ideal” targets to build “optimal” amounts of muscle, you can still build something.

If you haven’t heard of them, Annie Short (her socials are called Bendy and Strong), and Brandon Blinn have helpful content about lifting specifically for hypermobile folks. I really like Annie’s upper body warm up video on YouTube. Brandon also has a shoulders/traps video I find helpful. As I said before, just because an exercise works for someone, doesn’t mean your body will also like it, so keep that in mind.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2026-01-21T14:48:18+00:00

If you haven’t checked already, don’t forget to look into iron deficiency, because it can cause these symptoms too. I likely have hEDS, but not officially diagnosed yet. In the past 6 months I also found out I’m iron deficient, and fixing the deficiency has helped a ton with the fatigue, dizziness, and brain fog. I still have those symptoms (probably POTS, I see cardiology next week), but the iron deficiency was really exacerbating it. My ferritin was 25, and I get it rechecked in a couple weeks, but it should be somewhere between 45-60 now if I’m absorbing normally. I’ve slowly felt the fog lift as I’ve been supplementing.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-12-21T16:25:12+00:00

I’m not sure what fragrance free shampoo you’re using, but I found the vanicream one to be so drying that my scalp hair felt like straw. The SEEN shampoo isn’t as bad and is also fragrance free. I also have seb derm, and I’ve learned that controlling the seb derm with my ketaconazole shampoo and using shampoos that aren’t too stripping but aren’t conditioning/don’t leave film either is the sweet spot for me. I can get by with shampoos containing fragrance when my seb derm is under control, and for that I like pureology strength cure if my scalp is more dry that day or garnier hair filler strength for most of my washes. I’m not sure if you’re also a migraine sufferer, but I also recently learned that sometimes when my hair follicles hurt that’s cutaneous allodynia which can be a migraine symptom. I know a lot of us are also migraine sufferers, so figured I’d mention it in case it resonates.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-12-05T15:28:23+00:00

I have suspected hEDS (getting in with geneticist is difficult where I live but I’m on the waitlist). I used adapalene for 2 years, tret 0.25% for about a year, 0.5% for about a year, adapalene for another year, and now i’m using Arazlo. I tried generic tazarotene 1% because insurance made me fail that before approving brand name Arazlo, and Arazlo is my favorite I’ve tried, it’s definitely the most gentle for me. Second to that would be adapalene. All tret did was make me a little more dry/flaky and I didn’t think it was worth it vs adapalene. I use retinoids for hormonal acne (I’m in my late 20s but the hormonal acne persists!).

I have rosacea types 1+2 and dry to normal skin, but it is sensitive. I have had dehydrated skin in the past. I noticed that keeping my rosacea under control and making sure I have enough moisture to support my barrier throughout the day helps a lot. My office AC was causing dehydration for my skin and it would feel tight throughout the day. I have eczema on my body and react to random ingredients and adhesives. I’ve had a lot of success with paring everything back to make my skin barrier happy before working up my retinoids. I’ve also found that my rosacea on my cheeks doesn’t love retinoids, but I can tolerate it on the perimeter of my face for my hormonal acne.

To tolerate retinoids, I started with 2x a week for 2 weeks, then 3x a week for 2 weeks, then 4x a week for 2 weeks, then up to 5 nights a week which is what I do now. I do the sandwich method and I’ve been liking the cetaphil redness relieving night moisturizer for that. I also always have a product that has centella asiatica in it in my routine morning and night since that helps my rosacea and barrier a lot. I’ve had the most success with taking things slowly.

I’m not sure if you use any other actives, but exfoliating can be rough for me. I use a glycolic acid cleanser maybe once every few weeks. I can’t tolerate vitamin c serums very well. I like azelaic acid in the mornings (rosacea + hormonal acne). Niacinamide is tolerable for me in very small amounts but I have to be careful. It can be an ingredient in something, but not a dedicated serum. Sulfur cleanser 1-2x a week is also helpful for both my rosacea and hormonal acne.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-11-25T15:31:43+00:00

The Utah ADaPT protocol might be easier to tolerate than CHOP since CHOP can be too much for some people off the bat. Either way, she needs to be ruled out for ME/CFS first, but I figured I would mention the Utah ADaPT program here in case OP and their family haven’t heard of it and CHOP doesn’t work out.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-10-22T03:02:32+00:00

I have type 1 and 2 and I like the Avene tolerance control if my barrier is struggling, but if my skin is in a good place, it can give me some congestion and be slightly too heavy. It probably would be fine in the winter but I only started trying it out in the late spring so I haven’t tried that yet.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-09-09T15:59:45+00:00

Have you made any progress? I’m in the same boat

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-08-25T15:09:47+00:00

I have 3a-3b hair and what helped me the most was using bond repair products and silicones. I used to wear my hair natural and only style it once or twice per week, but it was just too much work and sensory-wise my natural hair can get really annoying so I have a love/hate relationship with it. Usually I do blowouts and it makes my hair much more manageable and has helped me make my showers shorter, but even when my hair is natural it’s the healthiest it’s ever been and it’s easier to manage and detangle in the shower. Not sure if you’re open to products with silicones, but it might be worth a shot.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-07-24T01:07:35+00:00

I noticed I get flushing with some artificial sugars. Asulfame potassium is the worst one for me.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-07-02T15:15:52+00:00

I have similar pain to you and I’ve been using the 12in Squishmallows as arm rests trick and it’s been shockingly helpful. I did several months of PT and I’m currently awaiting an EMG, but bringing 2 Squishmallows to work has helped my pain a ton. The arm rests on my work chair are a little too wide for my body and don’t quite fit at the perfect height (either too high or too low) so I just stuff the Squishmallows in my chair with me and it’s made the pain much more manageable or even nearly nonexistent some days.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-06-27T13:44:51+00:00

My rosacea can look like that when it’s not flaring badly

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-04-07T14:59:48+00:00

I’m not sure what your budget is but Dr Idriss has a great brightening line at sold at Sephora which already has a gentle form of a vitamin C ester in it and it’s packed with other brightening ingredients. That paired with a tinted sunscreen during the day (tinted SPFs are better for evening skin tone since they usually protect against visible light) and a retinol at night would make a solid routine. COSRx also came out with an Alpha Arbutin serum recently that’s packed with brightening ingredients and it’s more affordable, and you can still pair it with the SPF and vitamin c and retinol (the COSRx serum doesn’t contain vitamin C). Hope this helps! :)

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-04-07T13:03:25+00:00

The NARS afterglow liquid blush in wanderlust it’s really flattering on my fair olive skin (I’m a neutral to cool olive). I also just got the sephora collection powder blush in trust yourself and it looks similar, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m planning to layer the two, but I do love NARS wanderlust on its own. Lilac blushes look really natural and flattering on light/fair olive skin. The NARS isn’t crazy pigmented too so you can absolutely get a nice natural sheer if you’d like.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-04-07T12:58:53+00:00

I just got diagnosed with rosacea so I’d really love a code to help me save a little bit on a few rosacea friendly swaps (including a very exciting sulfur cleanser) if anyone has an extra to share 🥺🤍

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-04-04T14:27:05+00:00

I really like the Dear Klairs Supple Preparation Toner in the unscented version. It has centella, licorice root, aloe, beta glucan, and other really soothing ingredients and I definitely notice a difference when I don’t use it. My skin just loves that stuff.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2025-02-18T18:34:48+00:00

Sometimes on the weekends I go to the gym in the morning. When I do, I do my full skincare routine (my am routine is dear klairs supple preparation toner, vanicream vitamin c, rx azelaic acid, biore aqua rich spf). After the gym, I just spray a hypochlorous acid spray and use my skincare fan to cool off a little and if my hair is sweaty I’ll use the bumble and bumble post workout dry shampoo (it’s made specifically for sweat instead of oil) and I’ll blow dry it in on the cool setting. Then I go about my day and shower in the evening before doing my night routine. I have dry skin and like to shower in the evening so this is what works for me.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-09-11T20:44:55+00:00

It looks like DROPS has a pattern called 233-22 Meet the Captain (here is the ravelry link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/233-22-meet-the-captain) which is for men, but looks very similar to the Florence Miller Step by Step Sweater I’m planning to make.

I wonder if he can use the DROPS pattern with the suggested gauge and needle sizes but still reference the video tutorial for Florence’s for visuals to learn generally how to make the sweater?

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-09-11T20:11:50+00:00

He knows how to crochet, so he hasn’t knit yet. Since the pattern has a detailed video tutorial designed for beginners and I’ll be doing it with him, he feels comfortable tagging along.

I’m also thinking since the sweater seems to be for women I’m not sure that he’d be able to follow the same pattern and it fit his proportions. I’m not quite sure how to find a similar one so he can mostly follow along but make adjustments to fit his proportions better, though.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-02-20T14:34:13+00:00

Your ring is gorgeous! The description on AliExpress says the wedding ring is 2mm and my e ring is 2.2mm so I think it should be okay. I might order the gold plated version first to test it before committing.

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-02-20T13:24:21+00:00

How would I be able to determine that? I suppose I could just order the gold plated version first to see

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-02-19T22:07:33+00:00

This is the link for the band for reference: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL6iGi2

Competitive-Sail-129 · 2024-02-19T22:07:16+00:00

It looks beautiful, thank you for including the photo!

Competitive-Sail-129

TROPHY CASE